Finding The Road

Okay guys, this is basically just a week's worth of creative writing class. A little short, I know, bit this is about 3 hours' worth. I was limited on the prompts I could use to start ideas and everything, so I did what I could. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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Finding The Road

                She couldn’t believe in two days she’d be married. It felt like she’d been waiting her whole life. From the time she was a little girl, playing with her dolls, choosing the color of their dress, and what kind of flowers would be there; the guest list and the cake. Everything, she’d planned out perfectly.

                And there she was, in the final fitting for her fairy-tale dress. It was white and the cut not only made her have the body of a mermaid, it made her believe she was one herself. Long, flowing brown locks the color of dark cherry-stained wood, face highlighted and rouged every which way, she could have been preparing to walk down the runway instead of the isle. White lace graced her frame, complemented by pears sewn tastefully in curly-q’s. She ran her hand down the material and stopped.

                A pang of regret hit her chest.

                At first, she tried to fight it, but the thought of her, old and gray and wrinkly, grandkids sitting on her lap, kept invading her mind. Most women would have wanted that. They would have given anything for that; the perfect wedding with the perfect man. But this wasn’t the perfect time.

Sure, she’d wanted to have a career before she ever got married. But, that all changed when she met her fiancé during her senior year of high school. Two years later, he asked her to marry him and she agreed. But everything since then (and maybe even before then) felt like a mistake at that moment.

                She knew what she had to do. It was going to make a lot of people angry. She could just picture her mother, so happy and light as she picked out the dresses, turning into an impassive stone as soon as she was told the news. All her friends, her family, left hanging because of her.

Of course, there was also the person she was supposed to be tying the knot within a few days’ time; the person she loved. He would be very hurt, but she tried not to think about that. Because sometimes it’s okay to be selfish, and that was the first time she’d ever done something for herself. She’d always saved people from trouble, and never expected for anything back.

                Except for one time.

                The wind howled through the window. The girl sat huddling her knees waiting for the storm to be over. All alone, she wished she’d gotten a pet when her parents offered her one as a graduation present.

                The thought of it still hit her with full force. She would be graduating in less than a month. All of her teenage life, gone before her. Like the past eighteen years of her life had been one long summer, and it seemed as if yesterday was the last day of school. She would be leaving for Stanford a few weeks after graduating. Sure, it was just an hour away, but she would be living in the dorms. It was the perfect time to start fresh, normally a good thing, but the idea of what might happen in the months to come chilled her to the bone, just like the clap of thunder that had just roared in the sky overhead.

                Rain began to pour in around her and she cursed herself for wanting to go to the park so late. She’d always enjoyed the sunset and the quiet milling of old couples at dusk, but today she’d brought a book and gotten lost in it. Before she knew it, it was pouring.